“Ready or not, here I come!”
These words, directed outward, marked the beginning of an adventure, hunting for hidden friends during our childhood days. Today, they still resonate with me, but for a different reason. This time, they are directed inward, speaking truth into the fears and insecurities I have toward my ability to carry out this journey I have been called to.
There is no turning back now…it’s go time. We’re boarding a plane this morning, headed to the first stop on this 12-country journey: Colombia!
As we leave this comfort zone known as the United States of America, we all need and greatly appreciate your prayers. To that end, here are the prayer requests I have, broken down into our squad (31 people), my team (6 people), and my own personal requests.
Expedition L Squad (the “Love Squad”)
– Unity: Pray that we would grow closer together and deeper in our love for one another. (John 13:35)
– Financial provision: Pray that each of us would be able to raise the $17,561 needed by our November 30th deadline.
– Health and safety: Pray that we would all stay healthy and protected, both physically and spiritually, as we spend time in the rough areas that need the love of Jesus.
Team Salty
I haven’t been able to write a blog telling you about these amazing people or our unique team name yet, so here’s the quick run down. You may have heard of the quote, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” before, but it turns out there is one more line to complete the quote “…but you can salt the oats.” This last line is the inspiration behind our team name…our passion and desire is to live in a way that draws people to us and makes them so thirsty to know why we live and love in a way that is different from the rest of the world. We want to be the “salt” that makes others thirsty to know Jesus…that makes them want to drink deeply of the living water that eternally quenches our thirst for something more! To that end, here are the ways you can pray for us to fulfill that vision:
– Team unity: Again, this will be such an important foundation for our entire trip. Our deepest desire is to be unified in our pursuit of God and one other, and for the resulting overflowing love to be the catalyst that drives our ministry. Pray that as we grow in our understanding of how much God loves us, His love would overflow out of us toward one another in an way that is uncontainable.
– Stewardship of our individual gifts: We have such an amazing diversity of gifts within the members of our team. Pray that we would learn how to grow in the wisdom of how to walk in those gifts continually.
– A continued “Yes” in our spirit: We all are beginning this journey with a strong commitment to God and to one another. Pray that we will maintain this heart attitude throughout the difficulties that arise during the course of the World Race.
– Growing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit: All of us are learning what it looks like to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in all circumstances. Pray for our ability to discern His voice from the rest of the noise in this world and for the courage to be obedient as He leads our steps.
My Personal Journey
God has been doing so much in my life personally ever since I returned from Korea (long overdue blogs about Training Camp soon to follow!) that it is difficult to sum everything up in a few prayer requests, but here is my best hack at it! 
– Intimacy: As elementary as it may sound, God has been rocking my world over and over again lately with these three profound words: “I love you.” Pray that I will allow Him to break down my walls of insecurity and meet me in the midst of my brokenness to speak His truth into the lies I tell myself about not being worthy of His love.
– Identity: All my life I have found my worth and value in my success/reputation and admiration from others. Pray that I will surrender my grip on these empty identities and allow God to teach me what it looks like to truly walk in my identity as His son and believe that I have value because He says I do, not because the world says I am valuable to them.
– Vulnerability: I have mastered the art of sharing enough about my life to make people think I am being vulnerable, when in reality, there is a whole lot more I am withholding because it is incredibly difficult for me to let other people see that I don’t have it all together. As crazy as it sounds, this reluctance to be completely real and unfiltered extends even to my relationship with God. Pray that I can be my true self, ugliness and all–regardless of the circumstances or perceived cost–throughout this journey, and that I will give God and others the freedom to speak into the areas in my life I like to keep in the dark.
It’s going to be quite the adventure with God these next 11 months, thank you so much for your prayers for me, my team, and my entire squad throughout our journey! I would not be able to walk out this calling without all you prayer warriors carrying me through!
